Case Study: Springdale Winnelson

Springdale Winnelson, a wholesale plumbing, and heating and cooling parts and supplies dealer, has been serving Northwest Arkansas since 1988. As part of the Win Group of Companies, it had a solid track record for success, but president John Coulter knew credit and collections were hampering growth. WinWholesale, a national distributor of residential, commercial, and industrial supplies and equipment, is the parent company for Win Group companies.

“We’re a sales organization whose expertise is buying, warehousing and selling material,” observes John. “It just made sense to bring someone whose expertise was in credit and collections to help us.”

Finding the right partner

Before coming to BlueTarp, Springdale Winnelson worked with another national credit and collections company. John is quick to say that during that time, he saw “the good, the bad and the ugly compared to what we have today with BlueTarp.” Customer service was outsourced to non-U.S. call centers where representatives weren’t well informed about the business and there was no flexibility on credit decisions. Managing the relationship “was just a fight all the time,” according to John.

When BlueTarp took over the company’s credit and collections in 2012, John says that from day one, BlueTarp was invested in Springdale Winnelson’s success. The ability to offer extended terms and flexible lines to customers was a big draw, because he knew that to grow the company, he had to grow

sales.

Focusing on growth

From the onset, John was quick to talk to customers about the benefits of working with BlueTarp. The switch from in-house credit to BlueTarp means customers can effectively increase their credit worthiness–an important consideration for newer companies. And, online tools give customers an edge in managing and growing their own businesses.

John also lets customers know that working with BlueTarp means Springdale Winnelson has more inventory, assets and employees to meet their needs. With BlueTarp, he says he’s creating business partnerships with his customers–and that they come back because they understand how it helps them and him.

Reaping the rewards

Working with BlueTarp has allowed Springdale Winnelson to increase inventory and add three new trucks–all completely paid for. In fact, other than fixed expenses like rent and power, the company is debt-free. Instead of borrowing money to get the job done, he can jump on discount sales, hire new staff and make investments not possible for other growing companies.

John and his staff no longer have to spend time on credit and collections, and from his perspective, “…time is a commodity that’s just priceless, and now we can focus 100 percent on doing what we’re good at.” And it’s that combination of their salesmanship and BlueTarp expertise that has fueled a new growth trajectory for Springdale Winnelson.

John also has solid evidence that he made the right choice every time he looks at his books. Springdale Winnelson has no debt, increased sales and he’s now able to easily make his quarterly dividend payments. As John likes to tell his WinWholesale colleagues, “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe in BlueTarp – this is a great example of what a difference the right partner can make to your bottom line.”

photo credit: Gerber Plumbing Fixtures

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